The Los Angeles Chargers are back in the NFL playoffs.
The Chargers have a prime-time matchup against Jacksonville on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. on NBC. It’s the first playoff game for quarterback Justin Herbert and coach Brandon Staley, a tandem that will try to reverse the franchise’s playoff history.
In the 21st century, the Chargers have endured their share of heartbreak in the playoffs – but at least that has not happened in the wild card round. Here is a look at the playoff history of the franchise’s playoff history.
MORE: History of NFL teams without a Super Bowl win
Chargers’ most heart-breaking playoff losses
In the 21st century, the Chargers have made seven playoff appearances before this season, and there have been five seasons in which the franchise entered the playoffs with 11 wins or more in the regular season.
In those seven playoff appearances, the Chargers advanced past the divisional round one time. A look at how those seasons with 11 or more victories ended:
2004 AFC wild card: Jets 20, Chargers 17 (OT)
Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson led the Chargers to a 12-win season with coach Marty Schottenheimer, but the Jets hung around in a tight wild-card contest. Nate Kaeding missed a 40-yard field goal attempt in overtime, and the Jets won on Doug Brien’s 40-yard kick on the ensuing drive.
2006 AFC divisional playoffs: Patriots 24, Chargers 21
The Chargers were 14-2 in the regular season, Tomlinson won the NFL MVP award, and San Diego had home-field advantage in the AFC. The Patriots flipped that behind Tom Brady, who passed for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Stephen Gostkowski’s 31-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining sealed the victory for the Pats. Schottenheimer was fired as a result.
2007 AFC championship: Patriots 21, Chargers 12
Norv Turner led the Chargers to a 11-5 record the following season, and San Diego beat Tennessee and Indianapolis in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Quarterback Philip Rivers suffered a torn ACL in the victory against the Colts, and he played through it against New England on the road. Brady threw two second-half TDs to pull the Patriots ahead to give New England a 18-0 record ahead of their Super Bowl XLII loss to the Giants.
2009 AFC divisional playoffs: Jets 17, Chargers 14
The Chargers finished 13-3 in the regular season, but they ran into a hot Jets’ team at the wrong time. Mark Sanchez led two fourth-quarter scoring drives for New York, and Rivers threw two interceptions in another shocking playoff loss.
2018 AFC divisional playoffs: Patriots 41, Chargers 28
Anthony Lynn led the Chargers to a 12-4 record as one of the league’s surprise teams, but the season ended in familiar fashion. Rivers passed for 331 yards and three TDs, but only after New England had built a 38-7 lead. This was the Chargers’ last playoff appearance.
Chargers playoff history
AFL championship
The San Diego Chargers were a regular in the AFL championship from 1960-65 with five championship appearances in that stretch.
Chargers in the Super Bowl
The Chargers have one Super Bowl appearance, and that was in the 1994 season. San Diego finished 11-5 in the regular season under coach Bobby Ross, and a roster led by Stan Humphries, Natrone Means and Junior Seau made a run to Super Bowl XXIX. The 49ers beat the Chargers 49-26 behind a record-setting six-touchdown performance by Steve Young.
Chargers in the AFC championship
The Chargers have made four AFC championship appearances, with the only victory coming on Jan. 15, 1995 against the Pittsburgh Steelers before that Super Bowl XXIX appearance. San Diego lost to Cincinnati 27-7 on Jan. 10, 1982 in the “Freezer Bowl,” one of the coldest games in NFL history. The Chargers also lost 34-27 to the Oakland Raiders in the 1980 AFC championship game.
Chargers’ most memorable playoff victory
Of course, the week before the Freezer Bowl the Chargers won one of the greatest playoff games of all time. San Diego beat Miami 41-38 in the AFC divisional playoffs in a game where Dan Fouts passed for 433 yards and three TDs in a back-and-forth thriller at the Orange Bowl. This is the game where teammates helped Kellen Winslow – who had 13 catches for 166 yards – off the field.
Chargers vs. Jaguars in 2022 AFC wild card
Staley in his second season as head coach for Los Angeles. The Chargers just missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record last season. Los Angeles finished 10-7 this season and is a 1.5-point favorite against Jacksonville (9-8). Herbert, the No. 6 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, has put up 14,089 yards, 94 TDs and 35 interceptions in his first three seasons. This is his first start in the postseason, and it comes against Trevor Lawrence, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Chargers also will be without star receiver Mike Williams, who suffered a back injury in Week 18. Will Los Angeles have a break-through in their first NFL playoff appearances in four seasons?
